Organizational Communication

Abstract Organizational communication is a term that is used to refer to the process of mutual exchange of ideas, information and concepts with the main goal of achieving a common target from both parties that are involved in the communication process. Communication within the organization has very deep effects that can not at all be ignored. It is not only a matter that holds importance to the leadership and management in an organization but the entire parts of the organization ought to be optimally involved in bettering and utilizing communication. As the main pillars o the organization though, managers have to bear the responsibility of having the organizational communication take a key priority in their goals (Gillis, 2006). In ensuring that the success of an organization is obtained, it is important that the management ensures that all the channels of communication are clearly addressed and provided for. The importance that is attached to having and implementing various communicational needs have been discussed in the paper.

The communication management principles not only come as a point of interest in the company in achieving their various goals but it comes as a crucial part of the company in creating the competitive edge that it needs in the market. Also in the paper are the various communication strategies, and skills that have been discussed in the setting of an organization. Finally, means that can be used to measure the extent to which communication management principles are implemented and measured in the company also becomes a point of interest in the paper. Introduction It can be strongly stated that communication forms the pillar in virtually all aspects of an organization. The organizational communication determines to a great extent the relations among employees, relations between management and the staff, the relationship between the organization and the external environment and it is also as a result of communication that the goals of an organization are achieved to a certain extent or even not achieved at all. It is through communication that the reward systems are spelt out in organization as well as the expectations that the company has to the employees.

It is as a result of this weight of importance that is attached to organizational communication that the each organization allocates adequate resources and time to effectively build a good communication program (Kreps, 2000). It is through the communication program developed by an organization that the values, mission alongside other regulatory standards are clearly spelt out to all the stakeholders to the organization. It is sad though that very few organizations can have a claim of purely having effective communication principles. Problem statement The lack of effective communication principles in most for the organizations has proven to be a very expensive fact. It is actually as a result of this fact that many organizations end up being under achievers though they tend to have all that it takes to shine and even outshine their rivals in many aspects of the industry. The inadequacy of organizations to come up with the right communication principles have been taken as the main problem statement in this paper.

The solution model, the potential solutions to be offered, the implementation strategy and the measures that can be used to indicate success have all been directed at offering the right prescriptions to handle the inability of organizations to develop effective communication principles. Problem solving model Seven principles are mainly available as the main summary of the various communication principles that an organization may have in place. The principles are actually termed as the key to effective communication that any organization may adopt in whatever industry. Conciseness level of the particular information being passed on comes as the very first principle to be considered (Zaremba, 2003). The meaning derived from message passed ought to be optimized using as few words as possible with the attention of the recipient also grabbed to the highest levels possible.

Correctness of the information comes in as the second principle of effective communication principle. The message passed that has already been proven as being concise ought to bear all the necessary information needed so as to create the very information that was intended. Clarity then comes in as the third principle in effective communication within an organization. Phrases and words that are ambiguous ought to be optimall avoided in the communication process so as to ensure that the information that is passed is as clear as possible to the recipient. Completeness is the other principle of effective communication that should be employed in the organization so as to ensure that organizational communication bears the exact results that are desired by the various communicators. Under this principle, it is important that the information that is conveyed by the various people ought to be as fully detailed as possible.

Courteousness of the sender of the information should be the fifth principle in effective communication within the organization. According to the provision of this particular aspect about organizational communication, respect towards the recipient of the message ought to be maintained in the highest level possible (Goodall, 2009). Having looked at the principles of effective communication, it is vital that an organization appreciate the various levels of communication. The levels of communication are mainly divided into three levels which are mainly the downwards communication, upward communication and finally vertical communication. These three levels of communication are all irrespective of the fact that communication may be either formal or informal.

As a matter of fact, both formal and informal communications within and without the organization are all related to the three levels. Downward communication is mainly involved where information is passed in an organization from the top management to the lower staff in the organization. It mainly involves information that is related to delegation of duties within the organization form the management to the lower level employees. It is also a very important level of communication that is used to give directives and orders form the management to the employees in the organization. It is due to these aspects about downward communication that qualifies it to be mainly labeled as a very formal mode of communication. Upward flow of information on the other hand is the exact opposite of what is reflected in the downward flow of information.

It represents the flow of information form the subordinates to the top management body. The information that is mainly included in downward communication mainly entails complaints from the employees; feedbacks that they offer regarding various communications form the top management and even appreciations due to certain aspects in the organization. Upward flow of information is very important if at all an organization is determined to ensuring that it offers the employees a chance to massively contribute in the development of the organization (Modaff, 2011). So as to effectively contribute, the subordinate employees are only capable of posing comments and feedbacks to the top management which then ensures that various implementations are done.Finally vertical communication is important in ensuring that the top management and the subordinate staff communicate among themselves. It is mostly from this type or levels of communication that the colleagues are capable of exchanging ideas and optimally building each other.

Potential solutions The problem that organizations have in developing the right communication principles so as to ensure that effective links or communications are developed can b solved using various methods depending on the type and size of an organization. In this part, some of the main strategic means of offering a solution to companies in developing effective communication channels have been offered. The very first option that is almost a prerequisite for any company is the fact that the communication principles ought to be considered to the optimal level. By ensuring that information passed at any level in the organization possesses all the aspects that are part of the six theories of communication ensures that an organization easily realizes its goals. This can be achieved in the organization by having the code of communication being clearly stated in the organization. By having this clearly code of communication being followed by all the employees right from the top management to the bottom ensures that the desired principles of communication by an organization are realized (Devereaux, 2008).

It is almost impossible to convincingly separate communication and leadership in an organization. It is through leadership that a company has another very viable option or solution to helping make communication better. It is through the leadership of an organization that the employees are offered motivation, stimulation and inspiration in aadopting various modes of communication which are deemed as being beneficial to the company. As a matter of fact, it is through the communication method that is adopted by the organizational leadership that the other staff trains on communicating within and without the organization. Leadership that has a tainted communication method is bound to lead the entire organization in jeopardy in as far as communication is concerned. The management of the organization ought to ensure that transparency exists in the company in as optimal levels that add value to the company.

Implementation strategy The two methods that have been discussed as optimizing on the principles of communication within the organization’s operations and having the leadership offer the way to be followed in communication comes in as the best remedy for many organizations. It is most applicable in organizations depending on the size and type of the organization (Sinha, 2009). In this research, the two options of solution have been taken as all applicable at the same time in a single organization. In ensuring that the methods of communication have been implemented in the organization the very first thing that ought to be done is informing all the employees in the organization regardless of the positions they hold. By informing them on the new communication trends that have been developed in the organization, the employees are left to have a taste of the new regime by being psychologically prepared. This ought to be immediately followed by light training and any other activities that are aimed at bringing the employees into a complete understanding of the current organizational communication methods and trends.

Once it is at this level, it means that the employees in the organization are very much comfortable and at ease with the implementation of the communication process (Spiker, 2007). The step which then follows is the implementation stage where various communication processes established are clearly designed to operate. It is at this point that the company has the option of implementing the strategy using different approaches which can be done by implementing the communication strategy in phases or in the whole organization. Being that communication affects the whole organization, it is therefore more realistic if the implementation is not phased but it is done for the whole organization. Finally, it is important that effective ways of checking the standards are developed so as to ensure that various corrections if necessary are done (Manning, 2006).Success measurement techniques As a way of following up on the strategy that has been implemented in the above case, an organization ought to have specific techniques that are used to measure the extent of success or failure that is as a result of the implementation.

This comes in hugely in helping the organization that is involved in coming u with the right kind of remedy to respond with to the situation at hand. Carrying out surveys and interviews could be the best method to use in retrieving information on the effects of the new communication strategy employed by the company. Surveys and interviews can be carried out to both the employees within the organization and those who are outside the organization (Miller, 2008). By carrying out interviews on the employees themselves by use of means where they do not have to reveal the identities, the organization is bound to receive clear picture of the situation. It is the picture that is posed by the results that the organization may use in coming up with recommendations to fix the organizational communication adopted respectively.

For in stance, if at all a strategy that is selected is resulting in surveys revealing that it is hampering effective communications, corrections are made or even having a complete removal of various aspects of the program. Conclude It is more than clear now that the management in an organization ought to ensure that the application and upholding of various communication management principles is applied optimally. With this fact apparent though, it is vital to appreciate the fact that various barriers to effective communication also apply within every organization. These barriers can be presented in form of psychological barriers, having a system design that is defective and having physical barriers to communication. It is therefore vital that these barriers to communication are also hindered by the management alongside adopting the methods that have been suggested in the paper.